UNDERSTANDING MARGINALIZED QUEER VOICES: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF LGBTQ SPACES by MICHAEL FORST ROBIN BOYLORN, COMMITTEE CHAIR JANE STUART BAKER MERINDA SIMMONS A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Communication Studies in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2015 Copyright Michael L. Forst 2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Spectrum, the official LGBTQ student organization of the University of Alabama, provides an ideal environment for exploring traditionally muted voices in unsupportive political and social environments. An ethnographic study was undertaken to develop a deeper understanding of the experiences of marginalized queer voices in the South. The guiding research questions address interactions between LGBTQ community members, their articulations of acceptance and comfort, and identity performance in queer community spaces. ii DEDICATION To the members of Spectrum who were kind enough to share their stories with me. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Completing this project appeared an insurmountable challenge at times. Seemingly constant deadlines, long days of interviewing, and late nights of participant observations bled together during weeks of research. It is only through the support of committed faculty mentors and understanding family members that I have produced this thesis. Most importantly, I must acknowledge my faculty mentor and the chair of my thesis committee, Dr. Robin Boylorn. You have served as a constant source of encouragement and enlightenment over the past two years and are the single most important influence on my academic career. Thank you, Dr. Boylorn, for keeping me on schedule and motivated throughout this journey. I have also relied on the tremendous support of my other committee members, Dr. Jane Baker and Dr. Merinda Simmons. Dr. Baker, thank you for your guidance and for sharing your wisdom and knowledge with me. Merinda, thank you for pushing me to think critically – often more critically than I thought possible. I am honored to consider you both friends. Also, a special “thank you” to Dr. Alexa Chilcutt who never kicked me out of her office when I needed to sit and complain. Finally, a big thanks to the faculty of the Department of Communication Studies for providing me an academic home over the past two years On a personal level, thank you to my partner, Kirby, for putting up with my late nights of writing and the long weekends apart. I appreciate you always believing in my and supporting my dreams. To my biological family, thank you for the text check-ins and support from afar. To my chosen family, you’re the greatest friends imaginable. iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ....................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................... iv 1. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1 Spectrum’s Background ...............................................................................2 Cultural Context ...........................................................................................5 Research Framing ........................................................................................7 Personal Positioning and Intersectionality .................................................. 8 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................11 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................12 Marginalized Voices ..................................................................................12 Queer Theory .............................................................................................13 LGBTQ Safe Spaces ..................................................................................15 Proxemics .......................................................................................18 The Closet ......................................................................................19 Performance Theory ...................................................................................21 Bona Fide Group Perspective ....................................................................24 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................26 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................28 Appropriateness of the Research Design ...................................................28 v Participants and Setting ..............................................................................29 Entrance to the Field ..................................................................................31 Ethical Considerations ...............................................................................31 Data Collection ..........................................................................................33 Field Notes .....................................................................................34 Semi-Structured Interview .............................................................34 Ethnographic Narrative ..............................................................................35 Autoethnographic Frame ...........................................................................36 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................36 4. AUTO/ETHNOGRAPHIC NARRATIVES ......................................................38 Situating the Story......................................................................................39 An Uneasy Negotiation of Identity: The Ethnographic Narrative .............40 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................62 5. ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................64 LGBTQ Safe Spaces ..................................................................................64 Bona Fide Group Perspective ....................................................................68 Performance Theory ...................................................................................72 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................73 6. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................74 Methodological Reflection .........................................................................74 Organizational Implications .......................................................................76 Bona Fide Group Perspective ....................................................................77 Implications for Future Research ...............................................................79 vi Brave Spaces ..............................................................................................80 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................82 7. REFERENCES ..................................................................................................83 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................89 Appendix A: Interview Protocol ................................................................89 Appendix B: Observation Protocol ............................................................90 Appendix C: Meeting Location and Photographs ......................................91 Appendix D: IRB Approval Letter ............................................................93 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 ..................................................................................................................91 Figure 2 ..................................................................................................................91 Figure 3 ..................................................................................................................92 Figure 4 ..................................................................................................................92 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Individuals of non-heterosexual sexual orientations and non-conforming gender identities constitute a marginalized group in the United States and have long experienced a history of underrepresentation and stigma in popular American discourse (Hackford-Peer, 2010; Simon & Brooks, 2009). Though opinions about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people have improved, the LGBTQ community has yet to receive complete legal support and social acceptance. This thesis documents the ways members of an LGBTQ student organization create community spaces in climates and contexts that are geographically and socially unsupportive, as well as the communicative interactions that occur between organization members in such spaces. Through my study, I developed an expanded understanding of the experiences of LGBTQ college-aged individuals by focusing on the lived realities1 of members of Spectrum, an LGBTQ student organization at the University of Alabama. Specifically, I share narratives demonstrating the interactions